Of Offense And Reconciliation
by meltedpoo
Summary: AU!5yrs old MidoTaka. Takao leaves a bad first impression and Midorima is bent on not getting close to Takao. A childish fight ensues.


**TITLE:** Of Offense and Reconciliation

**SUMMARY:** AU!5yrs old MidoTaka. Takao leaves a bad first impression and Midorima is bent on not getting close to Takao. A childish fight ensues.

**DISCLAIMER:** If a ship doesn't physically give me chest pains, it's not a ship for me. Also, Kuroko No Basket is not mine, neither is its characters although I wish some of them are.

**A/N**: I feel sorry for people who don't ship MidoTaka :( You poor souls.

* * *

**OF OFFENSE AND RECONCILIATION**

Midorima was aghast.

His parents had taught him to always keep his posture straight at all times. They had constantly reminded him not to slouch, not to be loud, to keep his cool and never, under any circumstances, get his face, or any part of his body dirty. And here was a kid, loud and boisterous, rolling on the playground's sand box. He was having a grand time and was the same kind of loud that his parents did _not_ want him, Midorima, to be. He was aghast but he was also fascinated. How could this kid be so carefree? Did he not worry about his parents scolding him? About his image? Midorima wanted to know how this kid could stand being so...uncontrolled. But he did not have the courage to get near him. The kid was gesturing for him to join him. Midorima stood a good distance away, on complete guard lest the barbaric kid should do anything to him (like touch him with those filthy hands, God forbid). The kid stopped for a moment, long enough to see how his 'recruitment' was going, and, seeing Midorima's contorted face, he burst into hysterical laughter.

Midorima did not expect this at all.

"Wha-what? Are you making fun of me?!" demanded the prim and proper Midorima.

The kid took some time to recover his breath and replies, in between gasps, that no, he was not. Midorima, however, was not convinced. All that occupied his mind was the notion that the kid found him, in some way, funny, and funny was the last thing Midorima wanted to be. He was often told he was smart and Midorima held this compliment in high regard. To him, being funny was the complete opposite of being smart. What he did not want to be is to be an object of laughter and Midorima, being used to praise and pampering, did not take lightly to this insult. He made a sound of dislike and walked towards the bench, away from the kid. He knew the kid was bound to come running because nobody has ever let an angry Midorima slide.

"Wait! Oi! Are you mad?" the kid shouted.

"Hmph."

"Don't be mad! I'm Takao Kazunari. Let's be friends!"

Midorima turned around and made a disgusted face. Just like how Midorima has never been made fun of, Takao has never been denied a friend before. His open personality gave him a lot of friends and being snubbed was not something he was used to. Midorima's refusal triggered Takao's anger.

"Fine! You're such a girl!"

"WHA-!"

Midorima fumbled for words. He did not understand how being 'a girl' was an insult but he knew it was supposed to be one. The boys he saw everyday used it to taunt others and calling a boy 'a girl' usually resulted in a fight. There were many things that Midorima prided himself in and one of these was not being affected by the insult. There was nothing wrong with being a girl and it should not be a viewed as insulting, was what Midorima always thought. But being on the receiving end was different. He felt the intensity of Takao's words and knew that even though the world itself was not offensive, the tone was and this provoked Midorima. Never being one to quarrel with other kids, especially not under the pressure of emotion, and his logical faculties rendered temporarily unstable, Midorima was at loss on how to react. Fighting physically was out of question as he _absolutely_, even if it killed him, refused to touch Takao's dirty hands. Running out of options, he threw the thing nearest him (a stick) at Takao.

This time it was Takao who fumbled. He said those words out of anger but did not consider what would happen after. Perhaps he was confident that Midorima would never retaliate. He was not known, after all, to cause fights and the other kids even made fun of him behind his back because he fought with words when he got riled up. Takao knew that they only felt threatened because they never did understand the logic between Midorima's words (even he didn't, but he didn't care because he knew things he did not understand could be used as a topic of conversation) but still, kids can be quite spiteful in their own way and Midorima is, secretly, an object of dislike among the insecure half of the kids in the neighborhood. Here was Midorima Shintarou, however, a different boy than what he was known for. He was breathing heavily and just did perhaps the only thing he could dare to do in physical fighting.

Takao was frozen.

Midorima was starting to tear up and, for a moment, he did look like a girl, so much so that Takao panicked.

"Midorima-kun! Don't-don't cry!"

"I am NOT CRYING!" Midorima snapped adamantly and hurriedly wiped his tears.

"Okay, okay...uhm, let's be friends. Okay? Come on, hand shake. Grown-ups do this all the time." Takao said, extending his hand. He was starting to feel quite cheery again now that the threat of tears are gone. (besides, Midorima's parents were really scary and getting out of the prospect of facing them because he made their son cry was really a relief)

"No."

"What now?!" Takao whined in an exasperated voice.

"Your hands are dirty. I don't want to touch them."

"Haaaa?"

Takao raised his eyebrow. Midorima was REALLY annoying...

"But we CAN be friends."

Takao smiled. It was amazing how kids can settle their differences so easily. Takao, who only seconds ago found Midorima to be really annoying, was now glad of meeting a new friend and Midorima, secretly relieved that he did not have to punch anyone like other boys did, allowed himself to smile a little, too.

It was just another day in the neighborhood playground and both Midorima and Takao were satisfied with their days.

* * *

** A**

"Shin-chan," Takao whispered.

"Don't call me that." Midorima replied absently as he folded origami.

"Your hair's really nice."

Midorima looked at Takao, "Why are you whispering?"

"Because your hair's so pretty. It's like it doesn't want to be disturbed. Shin-chan, did you know? Pretty things don't like being disturbed."

* * *

**A/N:** if you don't think kids are capable of spite, then you've been in the wrong neighborhood.

also, can we now pretend that since then Takao officially became Midorima's superman in secret when the other kids back-stabbed him?


End file.
